Acta Scientific Microbiology (ASMI) (ISSN: 2581-3226)

Review Article Volume 3 Issue 10

How Reliable is Your Covid 19 Tests? Need to Validate and Verify Covid 19 Tests in the Laboratory Before Clinical Use

Amit Pruthi1, Maneesh Baghi2, Ashok Rattan3* and Sanjeev Vashishta4

1Head Corporate Quality, Pathkind Labs, Gurgaon, India
2Director, Regional Reference Laboratory, Pathkind Labs, Gurgaon, India
3Advisor, Pathkind Labs, Gurgaon, India
3Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Pathkind Labs, Gurgaon, India

*Corresponding Author: Ashok Rattan, Professor, Advisor, Pathkind Labs, Gurgaon, India.

Received: July 14, 2020; Published: September 26, 2020

×

Abstract

  On the last day of last year, China informed World Health Organisation was a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, caused by a novel coronavirus, which was identified as SARS CoV 2 based on sequences of viral agent available by 10th January 2020 and RT PCR tests developed to identify this RNA virus. The disease caused by this virus was labelled as Covid 19. The rapid spread of this virus from China to all parts of the world including India, led this outbreak to be labelled as a pandemic.

  In January 2020, India had only one laboratory testing for Covid 19, at the Indian Council of Medical Research’s National Institute of Virology, Pune. In Mid May, the testing facilities had been ramped upto 550 laboratories, both in the government and private set up, across the country, performing molecular tests for diagnosis of Covid 19 - an unparallel achievement in the history of Indian health system.

  In the absence of an effective treatment, prevention is the best strategy, which resolves around testing. RT PCR for Covid 19 involves multiple complex steps. This paper describes the minimal steps each performing laboratories must take to ensure quality in their testing. It is essential that testing laboratory verify manufacturer’s claim and perform ongoing monitoring of tests to ensure that reliable and reproducible results are available to decision makers to make evidence based informed decisions for containment of this infection. While EQAS has been announced, but no sample has yet been circulated. Interlaboratory comparison should be encouraged between ICMR designated Reference laboratories and other performing laboratories.

Keywords: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS); Covid 19; ICMR

×

Citation

Citation: Ashok Rattan., et al. “How Reliable is Your Covid 19 Tests? Need to Validate and Verify Covid 19 Tests in the Laboratory Before Clinical Use". Acta Scientific Microbiology 3.10 (2020): 75-80.




Metrics

Acceptance rate30%
Acceptance to publication20-30 days

Indexed In






News and Events


  • Certification for Review
    Acta Scientific certifies the Editors/reviewers for their review done towards the assigned articles of the respective journals.
  • Submission Timeline for Upcoming Issue
    The last date for submission of articles for regular Issues is December 25, 2024.
  • Publication Certificate
    Authors will be issued a "Publication Certificate" as a mark of appreciation for publishing their work.
  • Best Article of the Issue
    The Editors will elect one Best Article after each issue release. The authors of this article will be provided with a certificate of "Best Article of the Issue"

Contact US